In February 2020, the School of Environment and Architecture published its first book titled First Questions. I had a chance to contribute a chapter to the book. It is as much a reflective piece (looking at the research activities of the school) as it is a projective essay (proposing the structuring of the undergraduate course of architecture into an academic space which is based in research).
Below is a quick overview of the chapter.
“The scope of this paper is to offer a review of the research activities at the undergraduate program of the School of Environment and Architecture. In order to do so, the paper tries to contextualise the research activities within the growing interest in research in architecture schools and architectural practice across the world. One of the intentions of the paper is to make a case for making research central to teaching/learning activities in an undergraduate course and not see it only as a specialised skill -as it is currently considered today.
The proposition that this paper works with is that there cannot be an absolute body of architectural knowledge but it is possible to think of a dynamic compound of architectural aesthetics. This aesthetics is formulated by an assemblage of several knowledge systems and systems of inquiries directed towards the study of the built/environment. The form of this compound object is never one but rather it is ever evading, shape shifting. Like all things or objects it has the capacity to influence other objects (human / non-human) and be influenced -therefore the capacity to shape and be shaped.”
You can get a copy of the book on amazon india
room for architecture 